Hot Cross Bunzo

Firefox Add-on Memory Leaks!!!

2009-02-12T12:23:00.004Z

I really do like firefox.... But I hate how it provides no real protection to add-ons running away with all your system memory. Check this out.... APPALLING!

Surely this can be avoided..... 1.2 GB of memory? And I had LITERALLY just started firefox. Grr... (doesn't usually happen, I might add...)

Obama Elected

2008-11-06T00:48:00.000Z

I find myself in a very funny place today.

Last night, I was disappointed to watch as now President Elect Obama was crowned as the winner of this current election. As a Christian and a conservative, I have grave concerns for what a liberal president will do in the office. I am personally appauled that the murderous act of abortion is still legal in the states and am disappointed that the next several supreme court judges will be appointed by a democractic president, rather the a pro-life republican.

However, I have conflicting feelings as well.

I am pleased about a number of things.

First, and most easily, I am phenomenally happy that an african american candidate has been able to rise past the horror of racism and become elected as president of the United States of America. I grew up all over the USA, including southern states such as Louisiana and Oklahoma. I have witnessed shockingly racist talk in both states. I really wasn't sure the country as a whole would rise past such racism and elect a black man. But today it has, for which I can celebrate.

Second, and this is the really strange issue. I really actually seem to like Barack Obama. I don't like that he is pro-choice or pro-taxing us silly, etc. But I oddly seem to like him. He is a very charming candidate and I think will actually probably make a great president.

Will he be morally aligned with the important issues I value? No, absolutely not. And that is a real problem in the USA. I am shocked that anyone can support such horrendous procedures such as partial birth abortion, etc.

But, strangely, I think he will be a good president. Granted, I hope that's for a single term, but who knows.

Congratulations, Barack Obama! Well done on an excellent and supremely manipulative campaign. Please don't destroy the country. :)

Cool Links for Mid October

2008-10-19T23:00:00.005+01:00

Hey folks. I've ran across a couple of great links recently that I felt the need to share with the world. So what better place then here, just maybe someone is reading. :)

First is wireless electricity.

This has got to be the coolest thing I have just about ever seen. This is literally talking about cutting out the "final cord" ... the power cord. I've actually seen this around for a while, but mostly so far the examples have been about charging cell phones, etc. And that's neat, but not THAT necessary.

But this application is great. They've wireless power enabled a kitchen countertop and then a blender. Imagine if all of your kitchen devices were wireless enabled, this could be awesome...

If you think that's cool, check out the following link for more information: http://ecoupled.com/technologyTech.html.

Next cool site is glassbooth.

To a certain extent I had sorta become a bit muddled from a political viewpoint. I knew that I wanted McCain to win so our dream of overcoming Roe v. Wade could maybe come true. And I know I am sick and tired of liberal propaganda from the democractic party. But beyond that, I think I was sort of ignoring it all.

Well, then I checked out glassbooth, answered the survey questions as accurately as possible, and then discovered I really am a conservative republican. In short, the survey and following information that the site provides helped to clearly solidify my views. It also helped me to remember all of the other issues that bother me in the current political situation in the USA.

And I think I had a third link to share... But it has already slipped my mind. Ah well, I am tired. :)

Wordle is Oddly Awesome

2008-10-18T02:22:00.008+01:00

I ran across Wordle today at the google reader recommendation of my older brother. Wordle is a site which allows you to create lovely word mosaic given a large pile of words. These words can be entered manually or pulled from a website, rss feed, etc. Furthermore, you can tweak a variety of options for arrangement, colour, etc.

I am not sure I see a practical use for this. But it is really neat. I could see taking a particularly meaningful block of text, wordling it and then printing nice and big to post up on your wall. The question is, what text is meaningful enough for such a piece of artwork? Any suggestions?

Here is a worlde I through together in a couple moments having cheesily pulled the text from my blog. Check er out:

But then I got creative and rememebered my favourite poem, the Jabberwocky (go read it if you haven't)...

Speaking of which, I found out recently the meaning behind the name of the road on which I presently live - "Carroll Crescent". Apparently Lewis Carroll used to live in the area or something like that. Quite cool!

Unicorns that Poo Candy

2008-10-07T17:35:00.001+01:00

Oh my goodness, this is hysterical... Recent humor from indexed. The original post can be found here.

And then there is the corresponding T-Shirt that a commentator posted a link to... :)

http://www.threadless.com/product/771/Marshmallow_Factory

If you get one of these shirts, I want a photo of you in it.... :)

Need Something Quick? Shop Local

2008-09-22T01:22:00.006+01:00

I read this little blog entry today by Louis Gray today while reviewing ReadBurner. In short, Louis Gray is a blogger that was attending the Blog World Expo recently. He realised his need for updated business cards rather late in the game, so he ordered some via an online website called OvernightPrints.com.

Alas, the overnight in overnight meant something unexpected as days later, still no business cards. And ya know, I can really empathise with Louis here. I have often been left horribly annoyed when some online vendor did a rubbish job of getting something to me.

However, then something hit me....

Perhaps when one is desperately in need of something fast, especially something as basic and commodity as BUSINESS CARDS, maybe that is a good time to NOT use the wonderful old world wide web. Perhaps instead a trip to one of the following vendors might be in order.

Kinkos
Staples
Walmart
Your local print shop

Ok, I don't really know if Walmart does business cards. Surely they must, they do everything ELSE. And perhaps it is a good time in this occasion to give a little business to your LOCAL economy. Perhaps (maybe, of course) the customer service at your local print shop might actually be better then what you'd get online.

Anyhow, no disrespect meant to Louis as he maintains an excellent blog. But I just had to comment..........

UPDATE: And then, just to show how silly I am, I managed to double trackback his blog... Oh well.... :)

Super Kitten

2008-09-21T15:20:00.000+01:00

If you haven't discovered LOLcats, it is about time... :)

Awesome :)

http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/funny-pictures-your-kitten-might-be-superman.jpg

Sneak Peek of the New Facebook

2008-07-14T16:51:00.002+01:00

Check this out folks, facebook is getting very close to having a new version of itself out for the wild world....

http://www.new.facebook.com

Darts & Pubs

2008-05-30T00:55:00.002+01:00

Oh my, this is great. I've been following a quirky little blog recently called indexed. Each day the author posts a simple diagram of sorts drawn on an index card. They are usually fun and at least occassionally insightful. Well, I really enjoy them...

Anyhow, today's is great....

http://indexed.blogspot.com/2008/05/danger-danger.html

Ke'ilu Kan sung by Boaz, the Israeli Eurovision 2008 Entry

2008-05-29T15:55:00.006+01:00

Hey folks. I recently wrote about the ridiculously silly Eurovision Song Contest. It was great fun with plenty of wild and whacky songs, and at least a handful of good ones. Unfortunately, the voting is horribly politically biased and basically eastern european countries win now. They really should fix that.

Whatever the case, I wanted to highlight my favorite song - the Israeli entry. It was called Ke'ilu Kan (The Fire in My Eyes) and was sung by Bo'az Ma'uda. You can listen to the song at this link here:

Ke'ilu Kan sung by Bo'az Ma'uda

Eurovision 2008

2008-05-20T14:52:00.005+01:00

Oh my sweet holy pickles, batman...

A year ago (or a little over that actually) I moved from the USA to the United Kingdom. I arrived on a Friday, wandered around like a lost foreigner for a day. And the next evening on Saturday night I caught the last hour or so of the Eurovision Song Contest. Considering the bizarre nature of the contest, it would have to be one of the most comical things to run into on television less then 48 hours into my immigration experience.

For those who are unaware, the Eurovision Song Contest is a massive cross-continental music competition that takes place annually in Europe. This year is the 53rd instance of the contest, having began in 1956 with 7 contestants: Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Italy and Switzerland. Since then it has grown to dozens of countries including 2 semi-final shows and a finals.

Well, this year my wife and I are going to watch perhaps some of the semi-finals and most of the finals. And I am going to have to throw my support behind Ireland and their singing turkey... :)

Thank Your Teacher Day!

2008-05-06T23:37:00.000+01:00

For almost 60 years, the United States has celebrated National Teacher Day each year. This year that day is May 6th, which has just come and gone without my notice as I know live in England! I have not yet been able to determine if they celebrate a Teacher Appreciation Day of sorts over here. Of course, they should...

My wife used to work as a teacher over in the United States. She taught 5 year olds and did the sorts of work in one week that I did in a month. Teachers have a tough job.

Whatever the case, I wanted to put a quick post together to say thanks to the teachers that taught me over the years and that teach my kids nowadays. Here are a couple links to some teacher related stories...

Teacher Appreciation Week
Google on Celebrating National Teacher Day
Wikipedia on Teachers' Day
Wikipedia on World Teachers' Day

So, go do something nice for a teacher today or tomorrow. :)

BREAKING NEWS - Xobni for Outlook Now Available to All

2008-05-05T21:50:00.008+01:00

Well, before I've even been back to work to hand out some Xobni requests, I got this lovely email today from the Xobni team. I'd am calling this breaking news. However, I've only actually checked TechCrunch for a post on this so far and I DID get the email four hours ago. And I suppose there IS a story running in the New York Times about this... :)

Dear Xobni Beta User,

Today is an exciting day for Xobni. After seven months of
invite-only beta, we're proud to announce that Xobni is now
publicly available for anyone to download. Your feedback has
been essential in helping us improve the performance and features
of Xobni during this period.

If you are currently running Xobni, it will automatically update
to the latest version. If you need to re-download Xobni,
download it instantly here:

http://www.xobni.com/download

You can read more about Xobni's launch in today's New York Times
by going here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/05/technology/05xobni.html

Of course we will continue to work hard to improve the Xobni
experience. And we hope that you will continue to provide
valuable feedback.

Please let your friends and colleagues know that a better Outlook
email experience awaits them at http://www.xobni.com.

Thanks!

Matt Brezina
Cofounder

So all those waiting for a Xobni invite from me or anyone else, go download now. And, btw, Xobni rocks! :)

Thank God, No MicroFlickr!

2008-05-04T00:58:00.005+01:00

Anyone of the geeky persuasion should know well that Microsoft and Yahoo looked darn well like they were about to become one. Microsoft made an offer a while back, Yahoo rejected it, Microsoft made threats, they talked some more, etc.

For us that are big flickr fans, like myself, and maybe NOT the most huge Microsoft fans, many of us were nervous. We REALLY LIKE flickr as it is. We have invested our time and photos (and now videos) in flickr and do NOT want to see it change.

Well, fortunately, it seems now like we are safe. TechCrunch has broken the news today that Microsoft will soon pull their offer off the table.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/05/03/breaking-microsoft-walks/

Let me be amongst those to quickly say....... Halle-freaking-lujah!

Running & Dodgeball & Foosball (oh my!)

2008-05-04T00:22:00.013+01:00

Onward in my running quest, today the family and I visited the Virginia Water Lake that I have mentioned in a recent blog post. At first we split up with my family heading one way and me heading the other. They headed toward this totem pole that is on one side of the way. The plan was for me to run around the lake and meet them there.

Well, they ended up wandering off on another path. But I am REALLY pleased that I did the 4.5 mile loop in just 45ish minutes. That makes about 11 minutes per mile, which I think is respectable considering I just started this whole running thing. This was actually my third time out for a run.

And very cool, I got the whole trip recorded via the gps in my phone. Then, less cool, I managed to delete all the datapoints. GRRRRRRRRRRR!!! Oh well, another time. :(

And, btw, the shoes shown here are my new running shoes...

Next up... Tonight was the 2008 edition of the annual Christ Church Virginia Water youth dodgeball tournament.

I had the pleasure of serving as the referee tonight and it was really great fun. Dodgeball was imported to this group by an American youth minister they used to have. And the tradition continues in glory.

And lastly, I found this link this evening about a VERY long foosball table. This was funny as tonight before the tournament, I helped carry a REGULAR foosball table down from the youth area so non-contesting folks could enjoy some foosball. Now, if we just had one of these.... :)

Thanks to CrunchGear for the originating link...

Walking Away from 20 Million Dollars

2008-05-01T00:22:00.009+01:00

I have absolutely got to wonder what it feels like to WALK AWAY from 20 million dollars. Well, that is exactly how team Xobni feels right now.

Xobni is a startup company which provides an outlook plugin that brings much more rich content out of the pile of data that is your email. It find phone numbers, connections between contacts and makes it SO MUCH EASIER to find that file someone sent you several weeks back.

Well, they have apparently been in talks for several weeks with Microsoft to sell themselves over to Microsoft. And they have walked away. Yep, $20,000,000.... No thanks, we're fine. In short, they were a bit unsure in the long run where the future would hold Xobni in a Microsoft world. They are working on a version for Yahoo mail and will likely follow up with Gmail, etc. Those options would likely have disappeared with this deal.

Way to go, Xobni! I am SO looking forward to Xobni for Gmail! :)

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/30/xobni-walks-away-from-a-microsoft-deal/

If anyone wants a Xobni invite, leave me a comment. I have a handful left....

A Quick Running Update

2008-04-28T20:05:00.001+01:00

I am trying to keep enthused with my most recent passion - that being to start training to run a half marathon, then later a marathon. If all goes well I'd really love to run the London Marathon 2008. However, before I really start training I need to get some details sorted out regarding my knee and the pain that sets in about 1/2 - 1 mile into a run.

Fortunately the doc was perfectly happy with granting me a physio referral. And over the weekend or so, I got a notice of my physio appointment on the morning of May 8th.

I have been cheating a bit. I did a LITTLE running on Friday of last week and am thinking about doing more sometime this week. According to the most solid web advice I could fine (and the doc's advice, now that I think about it), I should take it easy. However, I think my case of ITBS is pretty mild at this point in time.

Also, there are some things that I can do to improve the situation myself. On that short list includes acquiring some proper running shoes and running on a better surface.

Someday this week I am going to go into London and visit a store called Run & Become. R&B is a specialist running store. According to a few mates, the shoes will cost the same there as at my local sports stores. However, they actually have people on staff that know how to fit you properly, how you should run, what works, etc. According to some reading I have done, my ITBS may simply be improved by running in actual running shoes.

And then secondly, my first bits of running has been on pavement. From what I have read, this is the worst place to run, especially when just starting. So the plan is to jump over to the Virginia Water Lake sometime soon and give it a go. A nice natural environment is not only beautiful in which to run, but soft ground also puts less stress on your joints, tendons and iliotibial bands.

The Virgina Water Lake is really is a gorgeous area. The lake is prettu much manmade as the original lake was really just a glorified stream. It was first created by the Ranger of the Park in 1946, who was William, Duke of Cumberland. Unfortunately, the original lake was destroyed by a flood in 1768, but was recreated in 1780 in a much larger form by Paul & Thomas Sandby. They also added a lovely artificial waterfall at one end of the lake where the River Bourne, which feeds the lake, exits. The loop around the lake is 4 1/2 miles, which would be a great run for now.

Anyhow, one last thing. I read this interesting story today that a guy wrote up about his experience running the boston marathon. Check it out, quite amusing...

http://www.cockeyed.com/personal/boston_marathon/boston_marathon.php

Announcing - Kicks & Grins, My New Photoblog

2008-04-24T17:26:00.005+01:00

I would like to announce Kicks & Grins, the newly created photoblog of me. Ok, not of me, but of my photograph work, etc. Read more at http://photos.captbunzo.net.

I tweeted about my new photoblog an hour ago. And my lovely wife very amusingly responded:

She's such a funny gal.... Well, I now have an actual photo post, um, posted. So go check it out!!!

Marathon Man, Busted?

2008-04-22T00:54:00.005+01:00

Hey folks. I've had a crazy idea recently. My friends at work are seriously mocking me for this idea. But oh well, they usually do that anyhow!!!

Recently I was in London with my wife celebrating her birthday as we walked the town. It was a great day and we very much enjoyed the sights. Well, the next day the annual London Marthon was scheduled to take place. It was VERY interesting to see the preparations being put in place. And then a couple days later on Monday, I had some interesting discussions with some coworkers about the marathon and someone made an interesting comment to me. They said, "Hey Paul, do you run? You look like the kind of guy that would run a marathon."

Ok, done laughing now?? Let me give you a moment.... Ok, bottle it up and keep reading!!!

Ah, nice comment I assume. Except I truly know that it couldn't be anything further from the truth. I haven't purposefully ran for fitness in about 16 years. And since I am 30, I realised that this is OVER HALF MY LIFE. What a LAZY BUM am I!!! :)

A little more background. I have a father that I prefer to think of by first name only now (as opposed to anything related to "dad") because, well, he's pretty much a loser. Yeah, harsh... He did take good care of us as kids, provided for us in every way physically needed and he didn't beat me or anything bad. However, he also never formed a real relationship with me or any of my siblings. Some of them really ended up quite emotionally scarred from this. I think I have gotten over that pretty well. And he was a crap husband to a really great mother and wife.

He also a handful of years back went through a divorce with my mother. And rather then staying nice and civil - as she DID support him domestically for 30 or 714 years or some long period of time - nah, he got nasty. REALLLLLY nasty. Not only that, but the punk was seeing someone else while still married, bought a house in Texas and forged my mother's signature on the mortgage and quite a few other things that nasty liers do.

Anyhow, this crazy nutcase of a man apparently started running during that phase. This is probably good as while I don't particularly like the man, I don't really wish him badly either. And I would assume starting to run is a good healthy thing to do (if it doesn't kill you). And not just little bits, but perhaps half marathons or even marathons, I don't really recall.

So. When my friend at work so complimentarily suggested that I could be the sort that ran, it occurred to me that I SHOULD be the sort that ran. What more then laziness (which I am REALLY good at) stops me from getting off my bum and keeping fit.

So I dreamed up one of my classic instant crazy plans.

I would train for and run a marathon!

Well, as I chatted with folks, I came up with the more short term plan to train and run some 10Ks with the goal of running a half marathon around the end of the summer. If all goes well, I would love to run the London Marathon 2009. But that's probably getting ahead with the plan.

So I chatted with a couple folks, did a bunch of internet research and started to get excited about this plan. And to mix it up a bit I thought I could do some cycling as a bit of cross-training, which I think is recommended.

Well, this is where, as my older brother would like to point out, I realise that I am getting old. Ok, maybe at least oldish.

Last time I ran 16 years back, I had not a problem with the whole thing. However, last Wednesday my result was somewhat less successful. I had a nice run. Ran about 1.5-2 miles and then walked another 4 or so. However, about a mile in I started experiencing this knee pain that I used to feel when I did anything athletic about a year back. Unfortunately it got to the point that I pretty much had to stop running. I kept trying, but it just wasn't working.

So I did some more internet research and discovered the root of the problem - the dreaded Iliotibial Band Syndrome. Basically, long story made short, there is a tendon in your leg that stretches from your hip to right below your knee. When this is too tense (or something), it rubs against the base of the femur and becomes quite a bit inflamed and fussed up. And I can tell you, it really sucks.

I am pretty sure this is the root of the problem as there is this test called the Noble compression test which is quite easy to perform. So my wife and I applied pressure at the right place on my knee and yep, it sure hurt at the 30 degree point. And the more I examined the documentation regarding the problem, the more it really actually made sense with the physical pain I was experiencing.

So what do I do now? Is this the end of my grand plans?

Well, perhaps. The right advice out there is to ice it and take anti-inflamatories and such. However, you also need to stop activity until you find out what is really going on. This usually involves going to a physiotherapist so they can do a biomechanical examination and figure out what is causing your particular case of ITBS. If you ask my peers at work, they seem to think it has something to do with my legs being different lengths. But what do they know. :)

So I went to my NHS General Practitioner today to see if I could get a physio referral. Even though I was advised that this might be unlikely, I actually managed to get the referral! Very cool. So hopefully sometime in the next couple of weeks I will get an appointment and make the visit. I may also go ahead and buy myself some decent running shoes after payday next week as I have heard that this will likely help as well.

I am having a bit trouble with impatience as I actually really want to get running again. I found some great guides for training that I would like to give a go. However, according to what I read, I really need (kneed? hehe) to take it easy.

So, wish me luck and keep me in your prayers (at least my knee)! :)

Goodbye Treo, Howdy Kaiser!!!

2008-03-26T15:02:00.007Z

First, in follow up to my last couple of posts... After commuting to & from London for 6 weeks, I have officially decided that...

Chivalry is indeed Dead for the Modern Commuter!

Sad, but true... Oh well. At least I can give my seat over to old people, pregnant women, etc...

Ok. On to the exciting bit of the day. I have pulled the trigger today and embarked on the process of switching from my trusted line of Palm OS PDA phones to a new and fancy Windows Mobile phone. The new beast, a shiny new HTC TyTn II (codenamed Kaiser), is on order and should arrive at my company's office by 1 PM tomorrow afternoon. Woohoo!

For those that are not aware, I have been a huge fan and loyal consumer of Palm OS products for probably going on a decade now. A quick run of my device history

Visor (oh yes, a Visor)
Samsung i300
Samsung i330 (ok, for only a week or so)
Samsung i500
Treo 700p
Treo 680 (moved to the UK, needed a GSM phone)

And so after what seems like forever using Palms, why give up now? Well, in short, I can really only point to mild and often aesthetic improvements to the device between the usage of the Samsung i300 and current Treo 680. The physical and software interface got prettier. I got a SatNav (TomTom) with my Treo 680, but that wasn't really to do with the Treo itself. Other then that, it is really the same device in new packaging.

Now, my new Tytn II, what does it have?

From the software side of things, I am looking forward to a truly multi-threading OS (aghast, I never would have expected to brag about a Windows OS for THAT!). And I am looking forward to a real internet browser - the Palm browser really actually sucks.

From the hardware side of things, let's start with a GPS that is built-in. That is a feature that the Treo 680 should have had, but well, no. And the TyTn also gives me high speed internet over the phone, WiFi acces, a camera that will actually take GOOD quality pictures, and more.

But most of all, I can't wait to enjoy that slide out keyboard. The device is about the same size, even maybe smaller, then my Treo 680. But they have managed to cram in a keyboard that is much more useful for texting, etc. I don't know why someone didn't think of this 10 years ago, but I love it.

Anyhow, stay tuned for more details on what I think about the device. Perhaps I will even get all corny and post an unboxing video. :)

Before I go, here are a couple links to Duke Carico's website. Duke explains in more detail exactly the sorts of reasoning behind why I was a Treo fan and why I am now jumping ship.

Hopefully I will be as satisfied as the Duke.

Unchivalrous Act of the Day

2008-03-13T09:05:00.002Z

In my last post, I posed the question as to whether or not their was a place for chivalry and gentlemanliness in the life of a modern commuter. Well I write today to suggest that such acts of curteousy are possible, at least in a moderate degree.

Recently I have witnessed behavior which I have decided to call the "Unchivalrous Act of the Day".

A number of times I have been riding the train or tube recently and have seen a seat become available. On many of such ocassions, a man will leap into this seat without thought or concern for any of the ladies (young & old) who are standing nearby. This is shocking behavior.

It is one thing to not give your seat up when you are squashed into place and have little ability to extract yourself without quite a challenge. But when all you have to do is NOT sit down, come on now.

Now, I have been REALLY TEMPTED to make a bit of a photoblogging habit out of these unchivalrous acts. However, I have been advised by my common sense that this is really just a good way to eventually get beated up by a grumpy & unchivalrous commuter. :)

Is Chivalry Dead for the Modern Commuter?

2008-03-05T14:13:00.011Z

For the last month, I have been participating in the hellishly strange, but somewhat fascinating existence known as commuting. Rather then the "jump in a car and drive forever" variety, however, I have been participating in the rat race of the train & tube on my way to and from work each day.

Now, first of all, I have thus forth enjoyed the process. Yes, I am nuts.

However, from the smallish town American perspective, the concept of walking to the train station, riding a combination of train and tube for the next hour, and then walking (hustling / bustling?) another 5-10 minutes from tube stop to my office desk is quite strange & interesting. Will I still think thus in another month or two? Oh, probably not. However, to this point, Terry Pratchett has been my friend and the commute has been fine.

I should also comment that I FAR prefer this life then that of sitting in the parking lot known as the London motorways. But that's another story... :)

Ok. So now to my point... I have got to ask the question:

Is Chivalry Dead for the Modern Commuter?

This question has rolling around my brain for the last month of train riding.

Now, on the tube, I almost always end up standing anyhow as there usually isn't much choice in between Waterloo and Canary Wharf. However, each day on the train between Ascot and Waterloo, I sit in my comfy seat and try to figure out if there is some way I should be offering up my spot to one of the ladies standing in the aisles. Ok, they aren't THAT comfy....

Now, I am not a sexist. I don't think women are beneath me. But I was raised to open doors for women (and people in general, actually). And I do generally attempt to show respect.

However there are days where I am absolutely knackered, not feeling well or otherwise out of sorts and a part of me feels like I wouldn't give up my seat to a paralysed & blind grandmother. But on most journeys, I could easily sacrifice my seat and stand for half the trip or whatnot.

However, it is just not what people do.

I think people would almost be suspicious if I gave up my seat. Or I'd stand up and another male commuter would take my place (which isn't really the point, though I suppose would be nice as well). Then there is the issue that I am usually embedded between a pile of other seated commuters and would have to pry myself out of that pile. That really doesn't work either, exactly.

So I am at a bit of a loss on this one. Is it actually possible to be a gentleman on the train at 7:30 or 17:30, Monday thru Fridays? Feel free to let me know if you have any ideas. Perhaps today I should give it a try and see what happens. :)

On another note, check out this interesting article by Danielle Clark regarding Underground Etiquette. Thanks for the great read, Danielle! Even though most of what you have to say is common sense, it is amazing how many people completely miss such things. And as a newbie commuter myself, it is nice to see I have figured most of it out nicely.

http://my.telegraph.co.uk/danielle_clark/february_2008/london_underground_etiquette_for_beginners.htm

A New Place to Hide Your Books

2008-02-26T22:40:00.003Z

I promise, I am not really doing some sort of a London thing here... However, I did come across this really neat story tonight about this staircase bookshelf that someone came up with someone in one of these tiny London houses.

Click the Link Here

I guess when houses are the size of thimbles you have to use every square inch efficiently. What a neat idea!

Building Underground

2008-02-25T22:56:00.004Z

I am a huge fan of using modern technology to make our world generally more attractive, pretty, etc. I ran into this really cool article today which talked about how current building & engineering techniques can be used to move, well, the ugly bits of our required world underground and out of the way....namely the miles and miles of roads.

Read here: Let's Get Building Underground

I really liked the points in particular about how roads can be SAFER underground due to lack of pedestrians, opportunities for air scrubbing, etc. Way cool... :)

Riding the Train - Life is Complete

2008-02-24T13:55:00.002Z

Ah... It only takes those little things in life to arrive at completeness when you are 2 or 6 or 7. After church today, Andrea dropped the kiddos and me off at the Virginia Water station so that the kids might enjoy a short train ride, which they have been requesting for weeks.

Here are a couple of snaps while we waited...